BENUE, Nigeria – At least thirteen people have been brutally murdered in an attack by suspected herdsmen in Azege settlement, Mbaya, Tombo Ward of Logo Local Government Area, Benue State, north-central Nigeria.
Benjamin Uzenda, the immediate former Caretaker Chairman of Logo LGA confirmed the incident, which occurred on Sunday morning at about 7am.
“They (herdsmen) were armed with sophisticated weapons and immediately opened fire on residents who were preparing to attend morning church service,” Uzenda said.
The former chairman described the attack as “coordinated, planned” and stated that the attackers “opened fire on the harmless villagers, butchered some bodies after shooting them, and gunned down women and children.”
The attack also involved arson and the destruction of farmlands and crops in the area.
Uzenda added that the attackers operated for hours before fleeing the scene ahead of the arrival of security personnel.
Police could not be reached for comments.
For more than a decade, civilians in Nigeria have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities as result of attacks, kidnappings and extortion by various non-state armed groups.
Since the start of 2024 civilians have faced intensified violence across Nigeria, and near-daily attacks by armed groups resulting in kidnappings and other abuses against civilians.
Armed groups and gangs, including so-called “bandits,” have – for many years – perpetrated widespread atrocities, including murder, rape, kidnapping, organized cattle-rustling and plunder. Armed herdsmen are also destroying vast swaths of farmland, prompting many farmers to abandon their land out of fear of attack.
The conflict between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria has been a longstanding issue, resulting in violence and loss of lives.
The Fulani people are believed to be the largest semi-nomadic group globally, found across West and Central Africa. In Nigeria, some continue to live as semi-nomadic herders, while others have moved to cities. Unlike city dwellers, the nomadic groups spend most of their lives in the bush and are often involved in clashes with farming communities, and also engage in kidnapping for ransom. They herd their animals across vast areas, frequently clashing with local farmers.
The herders now bear sophisticated weapons and use them to terrorize many parts of the country, with security operatives ignoring many of the attacks for allegedly not getting orders to go after the criminals.
Several brutal attacks happened under former President Muhammadu Buhari, who was born to a Fulani family on 17 December 1942, in Daura, a town in Katsina State, northwest Nigeria.
The continuous unprovoked attacks triggered resistance in South-East region, inhabited by Igbo people and South-West region, inhabited by the Yoruba people.
A Yoruba activist and philanthropist, Chief Dr Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, demanded end to the attacks that have cost lives of thousands. He asked the Fulani people to vacate all the forests in South-West Nigeria.
As the Akoni Oodua of Yorubaland, he is known for fighting for the rights of the Yorubas. He is currently advocating for a sovereign Yoruba country.